Large portions of hydrocarbon location and production activities involve drilling, pumping, and conduit installation beneath the surface of the earth. In addition, drilling, pumping, and conduit installation operations may include water location and distribution. Drilling, pumping, and conduit installation operations may include sewage processing and distribution. Drilling and conduit installation operations may support installation of electrical power transmission lines and telecommunication industry transmission lines.
Drilling, pumping, and conduit installation activities often require lengths of pipes. These pipes may be joined in a variety of manners. When pipes are joined, there are several considerations. For example, lengths of pipes often extend over long distances. Replacing broken connections may be difficult and timely. Also, drilling activities may require torque to be transmitted across numerous different pipes. Thus, a joint may need to be strong enough to transmit certain levels of torque and resist failure.
Additionally, certain industry standards regarding the diameters of pipe sections exist today. For example, standards exist regarding the diameters of the inside of pipes. These standards may maintain expected results for a capacity for flow through a string of joined pipes. Standards also exist for the outer diameter of pipes. These standards may maintain expectancies of certain pipes to fit within certain clearances. Thus, there may be limits on the sizes and thicknesses of materials used in the joint sections of the pipes.
Available solutions include threaded connections between pipe sections. The threads may be tightened together to form a connection between pipes. However, these connections may not transfer the same torque while rotating both to the left and to the right. The threads may become unthreaded and separate. Additional solutions include adding interlocking splines to the ends of joint sections. The splines may be capable of transferring torque between sections of pipe even while the pipes are rotated in different directions. However, spline connections may not produce desired results for strength in a pipe section. Splines do not endure reactive torque, which leads to wear from “backlash.”
A need exists for an improved connection for tubulars that overcomes the issues discussed above. It is to such a connection that the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed.